Local Attorney Speaks Out Following Alleged Alcohol-Related Arrest

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Local Attorney Speaks Out Following Alleged Alcohol-Related Arrest

PANAMA (KFSM) — A local attorney who was arrested Wednesday (Nov. 22) and is accused of public intoxication and resisting an officer, said he wants to share his side of the story.

An officer saw a silver Lexus parking in the outside lane of southbound side of Highway 59 about 2 a.m., and Poteau attorney Steven Minks was seen walking away from the vehicle, according to the arrest report.

When asked if the Lexus was his car, Minks shrugged his shoulders and asked if he was under arrest, the report states. The officer asked him if he had broken down, and Minks responded asking if he had broken the law and continued walking, according to the report.

The report states that Minks asked again if he was under arrest and when he was told no, he waved “bye” and kept walking. The officer continued to drive alongside him trying to communicate with him, according to the report.

He became agitated and told the officer to “[expletive] off,” the report states. He asked the officer if he liked being sued and waved “bye” again, according to the report.

The report states that the officer asked him to identify himself and Minks again asked if he was under arrest. The officer then pulled to the sidewalk and got out of his patrol car, according to the report.

The officer approached him and asked him why he was agitated, the report states. The officer told him he was going to detain him until he could figure out what was going on with him, according to the report. He patted him for weapons and noticed a strong odor of alcohol on him and blood shot eyes, the report states.

However, during a phone call with 5NEWS, Minks said he demanded a breath test and officers failed to give one.

Minks called the officer a [expletive] and said he was going to sue him, the report states. The officer then told him he was under arrest for public intoxication, according to the report. The report states that when he was cuffing his arms, he jerked his left arm back to his front. The officer told Minks he did not want to do that and a Shady Point officer arrived to assist, and Minks was placed in his patrol car because it has a cage, according to the report.

The report states that a loaded .380 caliber pistol was found in the vehicle.

Minks is facing charges of improper parking on a roadway, public intoxication, resisting arrest and obstruction, according to the arrest report. During the phone call with 5NEWS, Minks added that he plans to fight the charges against him through a civil rights lawsuit.

He said above all, he thinks officers are targeting him because he is a civil rights attorney and often sues police.

And what about the mugshot? Minks also spoke to 5NEWS about that.

Minks said he stuck out his tongue in his mugshot because he was upset about the entire matter. He said police took several pictures of him, but decided to release that particular one to suggest he was intoxicated.